Means for cooling and lubricating sewing machine needles



A. ALBERo' MEANS FOR Nov. 16, 1948.

COOLING AND LUBRICATING SEWING MACHINE NEEDLES Filed 'Aug. 8, 1945 mm eu MM vfifiorng Patented Nov. 16;, 1948 FOR COOLIN SEWING 'MAC My invention relates to a new and usefulmeans for cooling and lubricating sewing machine needles and particularly improvements on my United States Patent NO. 2,373,734, dated April 1'7, 1945. i

The high speeds at which sewing machines of the present day are operated, it has been found that the friction generates considerable heat and the needl Another object of this invention is to provide means which will apply the fluid to the pointed end of the needle throughout a certain period of the inward movement of the needle'and then pass beyond the same so as to not interfere with the stitch or loop male'ng operations and thus presmoothed down and the fibres thereof caused to cling to the body of the thread which will result in said thread freely and evenly passing through the fabric and producing better stitches,

Another object of the invention is to provide rotary means for applying fluid to a sewing machine needle, said means being timed to make the application prior to the formation of a stitch or loop and be removed from contact with the needle during the actual formation of the stitch or loop and during the time the needle is being withdrawn from the looper.

A further object of the invention is to utilize the rotary sewing hook of a sewing machine as a part of the needle cooling means, especially as the carrier or support for an applicator.

A still further object of the invention is to provide means for automatically supplying or dis- G AND LUBRICATING HINE NEEDLES Andrew Albero, Delaware Gardens, N J. Application August 8, 1945, Serial No. 609,570

5 Claims. (Cl. 112 4256) pensi-ng a fluid coolant-lubricant tor.

With the above and other objects in view this invention consists of the details of construction and combination of elements hereinafter set forth and then designated by the claims.

In order that those skilled in the art to which this invention appertains may understand how to make and use the same I will describe a construction in detail referring by munerals to the accompanying drawing forming a part hereof, in which:

Fig. 1 is a view looking at the end of the bed plate or work support of a sewing machine to illustrate the relation of the needle cooling and lubricating means relative to other parts of the machine, especially the needle and applicator prior to contact. i

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary plan view of the bed plate-or Work support with the slide plate and throat plate partially broken away,

Fig. 8 is a face view of the hook and bobbin case, with a portion of the latter broken away, and illustrating another position of the applicator relative to the point of the needle.

Fig. 4 is a similar' view in still another position.

, ig. 5 is a top view of the hook and the'cooling and lubricating means, illustrating'one way of to the .applica providing rotary motionfor the applicator.

Fig. 6 is a rear face or end view of the hook, bobbin case, the cooling and lubricating means, and the needle in the position where the applicator is in contact with the needle.

In carrying out the invention as herein embodied Hlrepresents the, needle bar of a sewing machine and this bar carries the needle I l. The reference numeral I2 designates the bed plate, table or work support of the sewing machine having an access opening 13 which is partially closed at its inner end by a throat plate l4 removably fastened in place as .usuaL- The outer end of said opening is temporarily closed by a slide plate l5.

The feed :bar I Bis mounted under the bed plate l2 and carries the feed dog structure I! which projects through suitable slots in the throat plate [4 for intermittently feeding the work as the feed bar is reciprocated longitudinally and oscillated vertically, as is usual.

The hook shaft I8 underlies the bed plate and extends to a location in line with the access opening l3 and on the outer end of said shaft is mounted the sewing hook l9 rotating about the bobbin case 20. The hook I9 is generally timed to make two revolutions to one in and out stroke of the needle although other suitable timing can be employed. This timing of the revolutions of the hook to the strokes of the needle always causes a particular area of said hook to pass the needle on the inward part of the stroke of said needle.

For cooling and/or lubricating the machine needle I apply the coolant-lubricant to the needle during the downward or inward part of the stroke of the needle by an applicator having a rotary motion.- One convenient way of doing this is to utilize the sewing hook l9 as the rotary support for the applicator 2| which is a piece of suitable absorbent material, such as felt or wicking. This applicator 2! is spaced from the needle clearance notch, as illustrated, and held on the perimeter of the hook l9 by a clip 22 which is a strip of thin sheet material having its ends fixed to the hook by fastening means 23, such as screws.

Both ends of the applicator 2|, preferably, are exposed beyond the side edges of the clip 22 but under certain conditions, only the end of the applicator in the vertical plane of the needle is exposed. Where the latter condition exists, said applicator is saturated with a fluid coolantlubricant by applying the fluid to the exposed end and this is generally done by a hand operated dispenser because a fixture in a suitable position on the machine might interfere with the operation of the hook.

Where both ends of the applicator are exposed, the forward end can contact or brush the needle while the rear end wipes the terminal end or nozzle of a tube leading from a reservoir 25 fixed in a suitable position under the machine bed and preferably to said machine bed. A hole in the top of the reservoir, normally closed by some form of check valve 25, aligns with a hole 21 in the machine bed to permit filling of said reservoir. To control the flow of fluid from the reservoir to the applicator a suitable valve 28, such as a needle valve, is interposed in the tube 24 so that only a drop of fluid will reach the applicator after each predetermined or preselected number of revolutions of the hook.

In practice, as the needle moves forwardly or downwardly and the point thereof reaches the path of travel of the applicator, the forward end of said applicator contacts the needle and during the major portion of the balance of said forward movement of the needle the applicator brushes said needle as shown in Fig. 6. A thin film of the fluid is transferred to the needle and its thread so as to cool said needle, when it is generally the hottest, and smooth the thread.

As the needle continues its inward or forward movement the applicator finally leaves said needle as illustrated in Fig. 3, and by the time the loop or stitch is to be formed the applicator is well beyond the path of travel of the needle, as suggested in Fig. l. Thus it will be apparent that the applicator cannot be sewn into the work material nor ravelings from said applicator become entangled in the stitch loop.

The device is exceedingly simple in construction, inexpensive to manufacture and requires no Y and spaced from the -a sewing machine of the changes in the sewing machine mechanism, wherefore it can be readily applied to a machine at relatively low cost.

Of course I do not wish to be limited to the exact details of construction herein shown and described as these may be varied within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Having described my invention what I claim as new and useful is:

l. A needle cooling and lubricating means for use in a sewing machine of the type in which a needle moves up and down through an opening in a work support and said machine includes a rotary sewing hook having a needle clearance notch, an applicator mounted on said sewing hook clearance notch, and means to fasten said applicator on said sewing hook.

2.'The structure of claim 1, in combination with means to automatically dispense a fluid coolant-lubricant to said applicator.

3. The structure of claim 1 wherein the means to fasten the applicator to the sewing hook consists of a clip overlying the applicator, and securing devices engaging the ends of said clip and, the hook to removably fix the clip to the hook.

4. A needle cooling and lubricating means for type in which a needle reciprocates vertically through an opening in a work support and said machine includes a rotary sewing hook having a needle clearance notch, an absorbentapplicator to retain lubricant-coolant fastened on an area of the perimeter of said sewing hook and spaced from said notch whereby said applicator will brush the needle during only the downward movement of said needle prior to the formation of a stitch loop.

5. A needle cooling and lubricating means for a sewing machine including a sewing hook member having a cylindrical body with a needle clearance notch and a bobbin case member, one of said members being rotatable relatively to the other member, an applicator disposed on the outer curved surface of the'cylindrical body in spaced relation to the needle clearance notch and an edge of said applicator extending beyond the edge of the surface on which it is mounted whereby the applicator may wipe a needle while in an inward position, and a clip engaging said applicator and fastened to the cylindrical body of the sewing hook member to temporarily secure the applicator in position.

ANDREW ALBERO.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name I Date 2,002,172 Corrall et al May 21, 1935 23,20,316 Wertz May 25, 1943 2,381,685 Parry Aug. '7, 1945 

